Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, known in Japan as Demon Castle Dracula: Curse of Darkness (悪魔城ドラキュラ 闇の呪印 Akumajō Dracula: Yami no Juin), is a console video game developed by Konami for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. It was produced by Koji Igarashi (a.k.a. IGA), who has worked on several other games in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also returning are series artist Ayami Kojima and composer Michiru Yamane. Story According to Igarashi, Curse of Darkness is set in the year 1479, three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, thus the third official chronological installment according to the Castlevania Timeline. Though defeated by vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse continues to ravage the European countryside, spreading disease, mob violence, and heresy in its wake. Amidst all this devastation is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked under the employ of Dracula but betrayed him sometime during the events of Castlevania III. Eventually growing disgusted with Dracula's brutal methods, Hector leaves Castlevania to live amongst humans, settling down to live a peaceful life. When Hector's fiance is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Hector learns that her murder was directed by his fellow Forgemaster, Isaac. Seeking revenge, Hector chases his former colleague back to his old home, and back to the demonic life he believed he had left behind him. Character Gallery See also Image:Hector2.jpg|Hector - One of two devil forge masters who served Dracula and later defected. He is enraged with Isaac for the death of his beloved Rosaly. (playable) Image:Isaacdark.png|Isaac - The other devil forge master. He blames Hector's defection for Dracula's defeat at the hands of Trevor and company. Image:Rosalee.JPG|Rosaly - Hector's beloved. She was killed falsely as a witch through Isaac's scheming. Image:Cod offart47.jpg|Trevor Belmont - The man who defeated Dracula. He has returned to Valachia because he heard rumors of a Devil Forgemaster wreaking havoc across the land. Image:Stgermain.png|Saint Germain - The man who knows too much. He tries to dissuade Hector from pursuing Isaac. Image:Cod offart59.jpg|Zead - A priest who claims to seek the end of the curse and gives Hector clues as to Isaac's whereabouts. Image:Cod offart53.jpg|Julia Laforeze - A witch who has survived the witch hunts. Helps out Hector by tending to his Innocent Devils and selling him goods. Image:Cod 1024i.jpg|Dracula - He is gone, but he left a horrible curse across Europe.. Image:Cod Abel.JPG|Abel - Isaac's hellish devil. Image:Cod 1024m.jpg|The End - Hector's Devil-Type I.D.'s final form. Image:Id-pumpkin.png|Pumpkin - A hero from ages past. Hector revives him and he joins him on his quest. Gameplay A 3D game like Lament of Innocence before it, Curse of Darkness is said to differ from its predecessor in a number of ways, including a more complex, action/adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. As Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, he will not be limited to the traditional "Vampire Killer" whip and will have the ability (much like Alucard and Soma Cruz) to equip a variety of different weapons. However, there is an extra gameplay mode after finishing the game that allows players to play as Trevor Belmont, equipped with the "Vampire Killer" and the classic subweapons (knife, holy water, axe, etc.). Departing from the central hub level layout of Lament of Innocence, wherein the player chooses from a number of distinct stages all accessible from a central hallway, Curse of Darkness is said to be a more complete game world, with a complete castle map as in Symphony of the Night. However, the game still uses the same map engine as Lament of Innocence, rather than the square-based grid of 2-D Castlevanias. Furthermore, a noticeable difference in level design is that much of the game does NOT take place in Dracula's castle, but rather exploring forests, mountains, and villages in Europe. The player will be also aided by "Innocent Devils" (creatures developed by Hector himself), through the Devil Forgery skill, in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles within the game. The Innocent Devils (commonly referred as I.D's) come in 6 different types. *Fairy Type (Helps Hector with healing.) *Battle Type (The muscle of the I.D's. Has the most Heart points.) *Bird Type (Flying I.D's that fight flying monsters.) *Mage type (Attacks with long-distance magic.) *Devil Type (Pure killing machines.) *Pumpkin Type (These are meant as a joke but do raise luck significantly.) Gallery Image:Castlevania_CoD_Hector.jpg|Hector, the Devil Forgemaster Image:curseofdarknessbox.jpg|Box art for the PlayStation 2 (U.S.) Image:CVCursedarknesseurope.jpg|Box art for the PlayStation 2 (Europe) Image:Xbox-castlevania-darkness-jap.jpg|Box art for the X-Box (Japan) See Also * Curse of Darkness (category) * Curse of Darkness Artwork (category) * Curse of Darkness Characters (category) * Curse of Darkness Items(category) * Curse of Darkness Locations (category) * Curse of Darkness Bestiary * Curse of Darkness Fan Fiction Related Products * Curse of Darkness Original Soundtrack * Curse of Darkness Promo Soundtrack * Curse of Darkness: Prelude of Revenge Soundtrack * Prelude to Revenge Manga - A small prologue manga packaged with this game as a pre-order bonus * Castlevania: Curse of Darkness Manga - A manga prequel to this game * Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNOVA 2 - Contains a remix of Bloody Tears with Curse of Darkness scenes playing in the background. * Official Koma - Comic panels associated with this game * Castlevania Pachislot - A pachislot gambling game sequel to this game * Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - This game is a direct sequel to Dracula's Curse * Castlevania: Lament of Innocence - The PS2 game made before this one, uses the same engine. * Castlevania Best Music Collections BOX - Contains music from this game on Disk 12 Trivia * This is the only Castlevania game where bats are not an enemy. References *"Castlevania: Curse of Darkness." play Magazine. February 2005. pp. 18-22. External links *Official site at Konami (Japanese) *[http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/castlevaniacurseofdarkness/index.html Curse of Darkness entry] at GameSpot, with preview screenshots and videos *[http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/castlevania_cod_a.txt Curse of Darkness game walkthrough] Curse of Darkness Category:Curse of Darkness Category:Playstation 2 Games